Weekly Quote: Montesquieu on Religious Wars

History is full of religious wars; but, we must take care to observe, it was not the multiplicity of religions that produced these wars, it was the intolerating spirit which animated that one which thought she had the power of governing.
- Baron de Montesquieu, Persian Letters (1721)

Religion, through warfare and various other sorts of conflict, has been at the root of a great deal of human suffering and misery. The question is not so much whether religion has played a role in all of this but, rather, how and why - because it's clear that religion isn't always involved in warfare or conflict and it's also clear that non-religious beliefs have done their part to cause human suffering as well.

One might readily imagine that conflict between religions is generated by differences between religions - the more differences and the more religions there are, the more conflict we will see. To a point, this is surely true. The laws of statistics would seem to require that there will be more disagreement as the reasons for disagreement multiply. Disagreement, however, is not the same as conflict and warfare. Disagreement does not need to lead to human suffering - individuals are all very different and have their disagreements, but they aren't all at war with one another.

As the Baron de Montesquieu notes, there is an extra ingredient to these conflicts which propels the situation forward into something worse, namely the assumption on the part of one (although also sometimes both) that it should be "in charge" in some fashion. For Montesquieu, the focus of religious wars is not simply disagreement but, rather, intolerance - the inability for one religion to tolerate the fact that not only do other religions exist, but that there are those who have the temerity to actually follow those religions.

Every religion teaches that it is right, of course - can you imagine any philosophy or ideology that teaches it is wrong? The problem lies in how strong the assertion is made. Many, if not most, religions go so far as to teach that they are absolutely right and that no other religion (or even other philosophies and ideologies) is right at all. By making the error of others into a fundamental doctrine, it becomes very difficult to also teach that others deserve to be respected in their beliefs.

Even many atheists succumb to the idea that, first, their position is without question correct and, second, that those who disagree with them are therefore somehow less worthy of consideration and respect. Intolerance and disrespect of others is by no means limited to theists or religionists - arrogant attitudes seem to be common.

Unfortunately, such arrogance and intolerance readily lead to much worse. It is when one religion (or other ideology) further teaches that only it really deserves to be accorded recognition by the governing powers that internal conflict is inevitable. Adherents of other beliefs won't sit by and let their rights be trampled upon and the dominant group isn't going to let the others get away with spreading their errors.

When you are convinced that you possess all the truth and that others possess only error, everyone is diminished - but while others are merely diminished in your mind, you are diminished most of all. Your problem is that you are simply unable to see yourself for what you have really become.

More Weekly Quotes: commentary and analysis each week on a different quotation dealing with philosophy, religion, and more.